Tata Teleservices will pay Rs 4,619 crore for spectrum in various circles, including Mumbai and Maharashtra, as part of the just concluded auctions.

According to the Department of Telecom data, Tatas will have to pay Rs 4,619 crore in total for the spectrum it has acquired in the 1800MHz band. However, it did not disclose the circles were the radiowaves were secured. (Reuters)

Tata Teleservices will pay Rs 4,619 crore for spectrum in various circles, including Mumbai and Maharashtra, as part of the just concluded auctions.

“Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd (TTML) has succeeded in winning 5MHz spectrum in 1800 MHz band each in Mumbai and Maharashtra service areas with bid values of Rs 2,446 crore and Rs 1,590 crore, respectively,” TTML said in a filing to the BSE.

According to the Department of Telecom data, Tatas will have to pay Rs 4,619 crore in total for the spectrum it has acquired in the 1800MHz band. However, it did not disclose the circles were the radiowaves were secured.

It was important for Tata Group company to get spectrum in the highly lucrative Mumbai and Maharashtra circles as its licence in these circles is set to expire next year.

“The spectrum validity is 20 years and the company has option of deploying technology of its choice in this spectrum. The total upfront payment to be made to Department of Telecommunications by the company is Rs 2,018 crore,” it said.

This is in addition to the current holding of 2.5MHz each in Mumbai and Maharashtra in 800 MHz band that was acquired in the auction held in March 2015, which also is valid for 20 years, it added.

In Mumbai, where the base price for 1800 Mhz spectrum was set at about Rs 1,430 crore, the company ended up paying a heavy premium to protect its holding.